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Hosted by Pat Mitchell and the Paley Center, TEDxWomen 2012 inspires women to raise their voices and be heard

WASHINGTON, Nov. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Hosted by Pat Mitchell and The Paley Center for Media, TEDxWomen 2012 will take place November 30 and December 1, at the United States Institute for Peace in Washington, DC, and will be live streamed to 150 locally organized TEDx communities around the world.

New this year, TEDxWomen and the Paley Center will offer the broadcast of the conference to the U.S. Department of State's embassies and more than 800 American Spaces around the world. American Spaces are public access venues where Americans and host country citizens come together for discussions on U.S. policy, society and values. Access to the TEDxWomen 2012 Conference enables people both in and outside of capital cities worldwide to connect to inspiring and sometimes surprising stories and ideas by and for women.

TEDxWomen 2012 will bring together a diverse group of talented and rousing women and men to challenge traditional gender roles and spotlight groundbreaking advances in topics ranging from autism to violence against women. What makes TEDxWomen 2012 powerful is the fact it is designed to grow and expand organically, with each individual event acting as a catalyst for communities worldwide to create their own TEDxWomen events.

Events have already sprouted up in places like the Sudan, where TEDxKhartoumWomen gives Sudanese women a platform to share their outstanding contributions to their community. Marieme Jamme in West Africa is introducing the TED concept to West Africans and planting the seeds for TED conferences in Accra. And Jamara Wakefield, a college student in an underserved area of Boston, has organized a TEDxRoxbury Women event, integrating spoken word artists into the traditional TED format.

"TEDxWomen has the power to change communities, and when linked together, change the world," said Pat Mitchell, CEO and President of The Paley Center for Media. "Now, more than ever, women have seen their collective power when they work together, share ideas, and elevate each other's voices."

"Bringing TEDxWomen to overseas audiences, many of whom would never be exposed to the original and creative thinking of the presenters, provides an engaging centerpiece for local events at U.S. Embassies and American Spaces that address such important policy issues as human rights, women's economic empowerment, and violence against women," said Dawn L. McCall, Coordinator of the Bureau of International Information Programs at the Department of State.

This year's speakers at TEDxWomen 2012 include:

Julia Bluhm and Izzie Labbe: two young women who successfully petitioned Seventeen magazine to stop altering face and body shapes of girls with Photoshop.

Anita Sarkeesian: a feminist media critic who initiated a successful Kickstarter campaign to examine gender tropes in video games. Shortly after, a Flash game, where users could punch a likeness of Sarkeesian, went viral, underscoring the sexism she sought to unveil.

Bob Woodruff: a former ABC war correspondent who suffered a traumatic brain injury while embedded in Iraq, and his wife, Lee, who will describe their journey of starts and stops.

Eve Ensler: a well-known feminist playwright, performer, writer, activist, and author of the The Vagina Monologues.

Chung Hyun Kyung: a Korean spiritual leader and ecofeminist.

Musimbi Kanyoro: head of Global Fund for Women.

Jessica Pabon: on the history of graffiti artists.

TEDxWomen is an independently organized event, licensed by TED. TEDxWomen is sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, AOL, Warner Bros. Entertainment, Accenture, Coca-Cola, Verizon Foundation, Intel, Weber Shandwick, and USIP. For more information on TEDxWomen, please visit the conference website at http://tedxwomen.org and download the mobile app for iPhones and Androids at http://road.ie/tedxwomen.

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